Forward Observer This Week in History (25 – 31 Oct)

25 Oct 1764 – John Adams and Abigail Smith are married. Abigail’s father, believing that John Adams has too low an aspiration in life, initially objects to the marriage.

26 Oct 1881 – The Shootout at the OK Corral takes the lives of three men in Tombstone, Arizona. The 30-second gunfight leaves Virgil and Morgan Earp wounded, and three members of the Clanton-McLaury gang dead.

27 Oct 1659 – In 1658, the Massachusetts Bay Colony passes a law banning Quakerism under the penalty of death. On this day in 1659, Marmaduke Stevenson and William Robinson, who immigrated from England in 1656 to escape religious persecution, are executed.

28 Oct 1919 – The Congress passes the National Prohibition Act, also known as the Volstead Act, which is vetoed by President Woodrow Wilson. The House of Representatives later voted to override the president’s veto and Prohibition goes into effect 17 Jan 1920.

29 Oct 1618 – Sir Walter Raleigh is beheaded in London. Raleigh, the founder of the first English settlement in America, was accused of conspiring against King James I.
30 Oct 1864 – Helena, Montana is founded by four gold miners. “Last Chance Gulch” produced $19 million worth of gold in four years, and Helena later became the state capitol.

31 Oct 1517 – Martin Luther nails his 95 Theses to the door of the Castle Church. The 95 Theses criticized the practices of the Roman Catholic Church, and started the Protestant Reformation in Germany.